• Cell cultures, tissues in culture, hybridomas, and their products – refer to Guideline #1120
• Human specimens - the regulation of imported human specimens is deferred to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

Introduction:

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services (VS) has jurisdiction over animal origin material. Material derived from any animal is potentially subject to USDA, APHIS, VS regulations and must be cleared at the U.S. port of arrival by Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (DHS, CBP) Agricultural Specialists before entry into the United States is authorized. If the imported non-human primate material has not been inoculated with or exposed to any livestock or poultry foreign animal disease agent, then a VS import permit will not be required and the shipment should be deferred to CDC. The CDC can be contacted by telephoning: (404) 639-3311.

Procedures:

A USDA, APHIS, VS import permit will not be required for the importation of material derived from non-human primates, provided the material has not been inoculated with or exposed to any livestock or poultry foreign animal disease agent. DHS, CBP Agricultural Specialists/inspectors must be provided documentation to determine this, which may include: manifests, invoices, foreign producer/shipper statements on letterhead, or other shipping documents which provide the following information:

1. A detailed and accurate description of the material, with species identification.
2. A written statement confirming that the material was not obtained from non-human primates that have been inoculated with or exposed to any livestock or poultry foreign animal disease agent.

VS recommends that this information is available for review by the DHS, CBP Agricultural Specialists upon arrival of the shipment at the U.S. port of arrival. We do not recommend that it be placed inside the shipping container.

We further recommend that you provide a copy of this guideline to your foreign producer/shipper.

If the non-human primate material to be imported cannot meet these criteria, then a USDA import permit may be required.

Import Permit:

An import permit issued by USDA, APHIS, VS is required for non-human primate material if the material has been inoculated with or exposed to any livestock or poultry foreign animal disease agent.
Permit applications may be obtained several ways: